


I Learned From You

by ZodiacBiologist



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, Alternate Universe - Magic, Coming of Age, Future Fic, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Magic, Magical Accidents, Next Generation, Original Character(s), Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2020-06-02
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:54:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24412396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZodiacBiologist/pseuds/ZodiacBiologist
Summary: Borrowing CoffeeCopp's Camp Camp OC, Arwen.As the daughter of Harrison and Nerris, Arwen is no stranger to magic. After an accident during a duel, Arwen decides it best she go away for a little while...or at least go back in time twenty minutes to prevent the accident from happening.Twenty minutes? Twenty years? Same difference when you have magic abilities, right?Just make sure you don't accidentally meet your own parents, because that could be bad! Right?
Relationships: Harrison/Nerris (Camp Camp)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 33





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, folks!
> 
> Taking a break from Campus Diem to bring you this lovely thing. I absolutely love CoffeeCopp's OC and was beyond excited to write this. 
> 
> TW: Slightly graphic depiction of an injury/blood. 
> 
> Important things to note:
> 
> In CoffeeCopp's AU, both Harrison and Nerris have powers. I headcannon Nerris would have powers that didn't show up until later in life, which is one of the reasons why Arwen is just now becoming more powerful than Harrison.
> 
> As always: Disclaimer, I don't own anything and Arwen belongs to CoffeeCopp.

A beautiful Sunday afternoon was when normal dads would play catch with their children. Harrison liked to think he was a normal dad and that this was a normal game of catch; Both of those statements were far from the truth. 

No, Harrison was definitely far from normal dad, this definitely wasn't a normal game of catch, and it absolutely was not a beautiful Sunday. Instead, it was a fair Thursday and the baseball flying past Harrison's head was a ball of fire, his daughter cackling loudly as she hopped out of the way of his return strike. 

If the older illusionist felt like it, he could simply open a portal over his daughter's head and drop a water balloon on her; It would catch her off guard and set up for a perfect opportunity to teach her how to open portals! However, using a skill they didn't share would make their duel unfair, something Nerris would have a fit about. 

Just like the fit she was about to have over the new scorch marks on the lawn.

Arwen had never been afraid of her powers and definitely wasn't afraid to use them, something she could thank her father for; Harrison had made sure they were celebrated the moment they started showing up, with Arwen's first act of causing her teddy bear to levitate. After years of trial and error with his own powers, Harrison would have been damned if he was going to let his kid suffer the way he had. 

Lessons and practices began as soon as Arwen could understand terms like 'levitate' and 'disappear', but it was starting to become clear that Arwen's abilities went far beyond Harrison's, though that was to be expected with having two magical parents. While Harrison took years to perfect disappearing, Arwen had it down to a science before her fifth birthday. Lessons began to matter less and practice became far more important as Harrison learned right alongside his daughter. 

The issue came shortly after Arwen turned eleven when she began to lose interest in her studies and found duels and quests to be far more up her alley. 

"See. She is a mage!" Nerris would tease, watching their daughter sprint across the yard toward an Orc only she could see. 

"Yeah, yeah, whatever…" Harrison would mumble back, watching a misguided fireball taking out his bird house once again. While he just wanted his daughter to be happy, Harrison was running out of bird houses, so a new style of teaching was in order. Lessons became thinly disguised as 'magic duels', followed by a demonstration on how to do better next time. 

So, instead of a water balloon, Harrison threw back a fireball of his own, his aim more precise than Arwen's, "Alright, kiddo, we need to get back to practicing. I'm thinking we could work on-"

As if she had read his mind earlier, a water balloon to the face cut Harrison off, a second barely missing his shoulder, "No way! I was just about to win!" 

Harrison pushed his soaked hair out of his eyes, trying to get a better look at where she was aiming next. With a balloon in each hand, Harrison briefly considered neutralizing her spell instead of trying to dodge, but, again, that would be unfair...and probably just result in Harrison sleeping on the couch.

"Arwen, come on." Harrison tried to reason, as if he had forgotten who this child's mother was. If Arwen inherited anything from Nerris, it was her stubbornness; Her quest was to take down the 'Dwarf' and she wasn't going to stop until she was done. 

There was really no way around it.

"Is that you admitting defeat?!" Arwen squeaked, her eyes lighting up, ready to chalk this duel up as one of countless "victories". 

Let's see.. admit defeat to your child or take them down in a magic water balloon fight? Decisions, descis-

"Alright, Sweet Pea, we can finish this duel. Then we really need to start working on your-" Harrison laughed, taking his fighting stance once more. He hardly had time to finish his sentence before he realized it was pointless.

With confirmation that the duel could continue, Arwen had already tuned him out, the water balloons disappearing from her hands. Harrison was almost certain that the fireballs would take their place, readying himself to dodge the moment they were thrown...but they never came.

He should have seen the blast coming. The signature periwinkle of Arwen's energy blasts, still unpracticed and unpredictable as his once were, whipped across the yard like a bolt of lightning. The older illusionist could have fairly used a shield, but it was impossible to tell where the blast was headed. Neutralizing the spell would have worked had he done it two seconds earlier, but, by now, it was too late. The energy blast was coming at him fast, a 50/50 chance of it actually hitting him. Out of options, Harrison held still, hoping it would fly past his head as it usually did. 

It just didn't seem like anything was going to work out for the older illusionist today.

Harrison wasn't sure if it was the blast itself or the shock of being hit that sent him backwards, his right arm instantly bloodied the ground beside him. While the initial hit didn't hurt, the pain that followed caused his vision to blur, an involuntary hiss making it past ground teeth.

"Oh my god! Dad! I'm sorry!" Arwen shrieked, torn between staying back and running toward her father. 

A handkerchief appeared in Harrison's left hand, though his attempts to hide the blood were in vain, "N-no, Sweetheart, don't start a-apologizing...I should've blocked that one. This one's on me…" 

Harrison slowly stood himself up, though it took a few tries to get himself steady enough to walk. He held his arm at his side as if to hide the severity of the wound from his daughter, "You stay here. I'm gonna clean this up real quick." 

While it definitely wasn't the worst injury Harrison had ever gotten from magic, and one of Nerris' elixirs combined with his own healing would have the sight gone in a matter of minutes, it still looked awful to the untrained eye. 

Arwen watched him stumble toward the house, a trail of fresh blood following him. As soon as the door closed behind him, the girl found herself sinking toward the ground, her hands already flying up to cover her face. It wouldn't be the first time one of them had been roughed up during a duel, but never had one of her energy blasts been able to leave more than a small bruise. Never had she heard her father sound so pained. 

They were having fun!

Now, Arwen waited for her dad, guilt mounting as she listened to Vanilla, Harrison's more protective doves, cawing urgently from the bathroom, most likely flying above Harrison's head as he tended to his new wound. The guilt only grew as Nerris had entered the bathroom with elixir bottles, her own swears drowned out by Harrison's.

Arwen had never been afraid of her powers...until right now, watching blood dry on the grass. If that was what she was capable of during a duel for fun, what kind of damage could she do during a real duel? 

That didn't matter, either. What did matter was, she had hurt someone else with magic abilities, someone who knew right away how to fix it...but what if she hadn't? 

That made her dangerous, right? 

Between those intrusive thoughts and the overwhelming sense of dread over the lecture she was about to receive, it felt like the perfect time for Arwen to disappear. Maybe if she tried hard enough, she could even teleport herself somewhere secluded...maybe that forest she apparently ended up in as a baby! The place was probably nice and lonely, considering she and her Uncle Preston somehow survived that mess!

She could stay there until she had her powers under control! It would be far, far away from any who could get hurt and give her somewhere to practice on her own terms!

The only problem was she couldn't remember how she did it the first time...it would be way easier to figure out how to go back in time twenty minutes than it would to-

"That's it!" Arwen lifted her head from her hands, which sparked with magic as the realization dawned on her, "I'll just, uh...teleport back twenty minutes! I'm sure I could do that!"

While Arwen was sure there was a limit to her powers, she didn't know where it was, meaning time travel wasn't too much of a stretch...right? She could just go back and prevent herself from using an energy blast! How's that for thinking like a mage, hm?

"Alright, Ari...just...focus…" Arwen closed her eyes, trying to visualize what she was doing twenty minutes ago...what was she doing twenty minutes ago?

Oh right, she was thinking about the forest- No, wait!

Apparently her powers didn't get the 'No, wait' memo, as Arwen immediately felt like she was falling, the rush of branches and leaves past her ears confirming her fear. While she had successfully teleported to the forest, she was fairly certain she was falling from the sky, which had never happened during one of her usual teleportations. Something definitely wasn't right here...

Opening her eyes would only serve to make her fall far more scary than it already was, so Arwen blindly threw her arms out to, what she hoped, was the ground, casting what she really hoped was a shield of some kind to cushion her fall. 

While hitting a pure energy field hurt far less than hitting the forest floor, Arwen still found herself yelping in surprise, the wind getting knocked out of her as her body immediately slid down the side of the field, depositing her safely to the ground. 

"What the-!?" A voice called somewhere near her head, followed by the sound of snapping twigs as if someone had jumped away from her. 

"Do you think she's okay?" Another voice muttered somewhere by her feet, though it sounded as though the owner was moving closer to her.

"Nerris, don't! We don't know where she came from!" The voice by Arwen's head sounded closer now, the person it belonged to returning to his original spot. 

Nerris...wait-!?

"Mom?" Arwen opened her eyes slowly before they were blown wide open as her vision cleared. 

The girl by her feet was definitely her mother and the boy by her head was no doubt her father…

At least, they would be in about ten years. 

Two things were for certain: Arwen was definitely in a forest, just not the one she teleported to as a baby, rather, the other forest she heard so much about...and she definitely didn't go back in time twenty minutes…

It was more like twenty years…

"Uh...H-hail and well-meant?"


	2. Chapter 2

"Uh...H-hail and well-meant?" Arwen stuttered, eyes blinking rapidly at the two in front of her. It was just her luck, landing right in front of her parents; If this didn't cause some weird time disruption, Arwen was definitely going to get grounded for this one...

"Who are you? And where did you come from?" Harrison blurted out nervously. Nerris smacked his arm.

"Isn't it obvious, dummy. She's clearly a Mage from a sky realm." 

"Why would that be obvious!?" Harrison snapped, rubbing at his arm...ironically the right one, Arwen noted.

If she had any doubts that these were her parents, she definitely didn't now. Some things never changed and their unmistakable bickering was one of them. 

At the very least, they were distracted enough that Arwen could sneak away from them before any sort of time paradox started.

"Or does that just happen in the movies?" Arwen thought to herself, stopping mid escape to ponder that one. Was there really any harm in talking to her parents? If this was the past, whatever she was doing now was supposed to happen, right?

If anyone knew how to get her home, it would be the people who she inherited her own powers from...Hopefully. 

"Hey, kid, you're kinda blocking the path here." Oh, Arwen knew that voice. It was unmistakable, the owner still possessing it in the future. If anyone could help her, it would be him.

"Max!" Arwen shrieked, a sense of relief washing over her. Of all the family friends she could have bumped into, Max was definitely the one who could get her out of trouble without her parents finding out...and he had….several times.

"Do I know you?" The boy asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Yes! I mean, uh- You will! In the future! You see, I um...My name is Arwen and-"

"I'm gonna stop you right there," Max pointed accusingly at the girl, "Your name is Arwen? Like, from Lord of the Rings?"

"Yes, actually!" Arwen snapped, crossing her own arms now. 

Max smirked, "And you're from the future?" 

"That's what I said, yeah." 

Max looked Arwen over before bursting into a fit of laughter, "Holy shit! No way- The Magic Kids had a kid!? This is fucking hilarious!"

"Wait, you actually believe me!?" Arwen asked, a look of shock crossing her face. Max wiped a tear from his eye, doing his best to suppress his laughter.

"Of course I do. This is the kind of shit I'd expect from a Nerrison kid."

"Nerrison?"

"Yeah, it's kind of a thing around here. So, what brings you to this shitty camp in this shitty year, Arwen?" Max tucked his hands in his pockets, offering the girl a slight smile. 

Arwen kicked nervously at the dirt, "See, I uh- Wait! My dad! He's gonna be looking for me-"

"Whoa, slow down, kid, geez. Did Harrison go evil or something in the future?" Max raised an eyebrow.

"What? No!? I- Look, it's not important how I got here, I just need to get home!" Arwen explained, taking to frantically pacing. 

Max watched her for a moment before reaching out, grabbing the girls arms, and stopping her in her tracks, "Look, you got yourself here, right? So why not just...I dunno, Abra Cadabra your way back? Can't be that hard, right?" 

"I don't know how I did it the first time...It just sorta happened…" Arwen explained, hanging her head in defeat.

Max took a step away from her, shaking his head, "What about your parents? I'm sure you can get them to stop arguing long enough to help...That's not gonna cause any-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know; Rifts in time and space are bad." Arwen kicked at the dirt again, only to crush an unsuspecting butterfly she hadn't seen. 

When the Earth didn't start to implode on itself, she took a breath, "Alright, I'll go talk to them…"

"Hey, I'm sure you don't tell your parents the truth all the time...maybe make some shit up so they won't ground you in the future."

_________________________________

"So you accidentally teleported and you don't know how to get back? I've done that before!" Harrison's eyes lit up as the excitement of finding someone with the same weird experience took over.

Arwen's eyes lit up in the same way, less from excitement and more that she had inherited it, "You have!? So you know how to get me home!?" 

"Uh, no...see, that's kind of why I'm here…" Harrison's face fell as he reached up for his top hat, nervously rubbing at brim. This was normally the confession that lead to others' disappointment and he wasn't ready for that today.

Much to his surprise, though, Arwen wasn't disappointed; She looked more confused if anything.

"Wait, wait, so you don't know how to undo your own spells?" The girl asked, putting her hands on her hips. 

"Not really, no." Harrison admitted, hanging his head in defeat. As if on cue, Nerris let out a laugh.

"Yeah, Harrison, how don't you know?" She teased, poking her friend in the side. 

Harrison rolled his eyes before swatting at Nerris' hand, no longer fazed by her comments, "In fairness, Arwen doesn't know how to either. Up until an hour ago, I kinda thought I was the only person with, uh, abilities…" The boy crossed his arms defensively, turning his gaze away from the two girls. 

"...No one ever taught you how to control your powers?" Arwen spoke up, taking a small step forward. With the way her dad taught her, she always suspected he went to some kind of Hogwarts style school. Future Harrison had found a way to get magic down to a science, something Past Harrison was still so far from. It was a little off putting...

"I've been sort of figuring it out as I go...What about you? Do you have a teacher or something?" Whatever shame the boy was feeling earlier was all but forgotten, his head lifting to the other Illusionist. 

Now it was Arwen's turn to look away.

"Um...yeah...my dad…" 

"Your dad has powers? That must be cool...having a parent who gets it, ya know…" Harrison rubbed at the back of his neck sheepishly, hoping his jealousy wasn't showing in anyway. 

"He's a great teacher…" Arwen admitted, mentally kicking herself; Did this count as talking too much about the future? She kind of just told him he'd be a great teacher...in a way...

"Do you think...Maybe, you could teach me a few things? Then maybe we can figure out how to get you home together!" Harrison wondered if he looked too hopeful, but he couldn't help it. This was like a miracle playing out before his own eyes. 

"What?" Arwen snapped from her own thoughts, wrinkling her nose in embarrassment. 

"Like, you can show me how to control my powers or how to use them... or something?" The boy elaborated, wringing his hands nervously. 

Arwen had to look the other Illusionist over, trying to find any indication she had the wrong guy. There was no way this...DORK was going to be her dad! He wasn't even sure of his own shadow!

"O-oh, uh, I think so...I'm not as good as my dad, but I can show you the basics...I think…" Arwen rubbed at the bridge of her nose. This was going to be a lot of work, probably work she hadn't even put in herself yet.

In short, they were both screwed. 

At least Nerris was there to laugh at them when things went wrong...as they usually did...

"You think?" Harrison's eyes lit up once more.

"Yeah! That won't create some weird paradox, right?" Arwen mumbled, turning to gauge the area they were working with. 

"What?"

"Nevermind, let's get started!"  
_________________________________

God damn...It had taken almost the whole afternoon. With Nerris on standby to put out any fires and place bandaids on any scrapes, Harrison finally had an idea of how to, at least, summon his powers. 

Since Arwen still couldn't control where her own powers went, that would be a lesson for another day. 

Now that Harrison knew how to summon, it was time to put them to the test.

"My first trick was levitation, so I guess I can show you how to do that." Arwen paused to scowl up at the sun before pulling a hair tie from thin air. She was almost too busy scowling up at the sun to notice Harrison's sudden look of disappointment. 

"Uh...I'm sure I can figure that one out on my own...Can't you show me something cool like energy blasts or-"

"No! No, I'm not gonna-!" Arwen didn't realize she had raised her voice until Harrison flinched away from her. Guilt immediately set in as the girl took a step away from him, "I-I'm sorry...It's just...One of my energy blasts hurt my dad...I don't know how bad and-..."

"Is that why you teleported? Because you hurt someone?" Nerris asked quietly, taking a break from her usual teasing. 

Arwen only nodded, kicking at the dirt again. An awkward silence fell over the group, no one knowing what to say. Luckily for them, after a few moments, Harrison still didn't know what to say, but he did know what to do. 

A short walk through this part of the forest led him to a small patch of wildflowers, the kind he would pull from his hat. After gathering a few, he arranged them in a circle, magically linking them as he would during his ring trick. He repeated the process twice more, taking a moment to admire his work before returning to the girls. 

Wordlessly, he set the flower crowns on their heads before removing his top hat to wear his own. Nerris immediately began to giggle.

"Come on, Harrison, these are lame!"

"Oh, but Nerris, it made you smile, didn't it?" Harrison couldn't help but snicker himself. The two shared a look, oblivious to their own daughter watching the earliest blooming of their love story. 

It was all a little ironic...and awkward.

Though, it did get everyone's head back in the right space. 

Apparently the flower crown was too 'lame' for Nerris, as she excused herself back to her tower for a real 'quest', leaving Harrison and Arwen to their magic lesson. 

"Well, at least I don't have to show you how to make these." Arwen laughed, adjusting her own crown. 

Harrison nodded in agreement, setting his top hat back on his head, "No, I don't need any help there...but, uh...Levitation...Can you show me that?"

"Absolutely! You see, the key to levitation is keeping things light. Your stance, your hands, your thoughts, everything!" Arwen rolled her shoulders to rid herself of any tension before slowly lifting toward the sky, floating just high enough that her toes left the ground, "Now you try."

Harrison watched the girl nervously, intimidated by how easy she had made the trick look. What did she say again? Keep everything light...keep everything light...levitation…

Harrison closed his eyes, focusing entirely on being light. Why hadn't he thought of that sooner? He naturally had powers that should come naturally; He just needed to trust in that.

Much like Arwen, Harrison became aware of his ascending once his feet left the ground.

"Arwen, look! I'm doing it!" Harrison's eyes were alight with pure excitement as, for the first time in his life, he lifted himself off the ground. 

"Perfect! Just don't go too high just yet." Arwen replied. 

Was that what she looked like when she learned a new trick? She had her father's eyes, sure, but did they light up the same way?

Watching Harrison float higher and higher above her head, Arwen couldn't help but feel a little sad. She never really thought about her dad's experience with his own powers, figuring it was just a normal part of life, maybe even something that ran in the family; She didn't see much of her grandparents, so she never asked. 

The Harrison she knew was far different than the one headed for the treetops. Her dad was carefree, loving, and more than willing to show off his abilities. He was beyond patient with Arwen and her lack of interest in learning to control her own powers and never made her feel bad about it. 

Young Harrison was completely different; He was lonely, shy, and lacked confidence in himself. It was easier to hide his powers than it was to try and figure them out, even if it was causing him more harm than good.

The girl was so lost in thought that she didn't notice Harrison had returned to the ground, watching her curiously.

"Arwen? Are you okay?" He asked slowly. His shoulders hunched forward, as if he expected her to suddenly attack him. 

"I, uh…" Arwen shook her head, clearing her thoughts, "Yeah, I'm fine...are you?"

"What?" 

"Are you, ya know...mentally okay?" Arwen took her crown from her head, picking at the loose flower petals. 

"I think I'm doing better than most outcasts." Harrison shrugged, closing his eyes to attempt levitation again.

"My dad doesn't like that word…" Arwen admitted, joining Harrison in the sky. Once she reached the same height as him, she folded her legs under her, indicating she would be floating awhile. 

"He doesn't? Why?" Harrison tried to copy Arwen, trucking his legs close to his body. While it in no way looked comfortable, he definitely got points for trying.

"You know...I never thought to ask him...I wonder, ya know...if he ever felt like that...I don't think there were any other Illusionists in the family until I was born." 

"I feel like I could relate to your dad." Harrison admitted, casting his gaze up to the sky. 

"You have no idea…" Arwen set her own back on her head. A silence resumed between the two, though it was more comfortable this time around. 

"What's life like for a family of Illusionists?" Harrison spoke up suddenly, confirming Arwen's suspension of magic not running in the family.

The girl winced at the realization. Magic was all she ever knew, making life, well...boring, actually.

"More boring than you think. Mom and dad work at a bar and I go to a regular, boring school, then come home and have boring magic lessons."

"That sounds amazing! I wish I had your life." Harrison attempted to jump up, nearly knocking himself out of the sky in the process. 

Arwen giggled as she watched the boy correct himself, "Don't worry, you will…"

"I hope so...it's hard to find people who accept you when you're...not normal. Most people are afraid of me...even my own parents." Harrison spoke as if what he was saying was normal. Maybe this was normal to him?

"What about M- Nerris? She doesn't seem afraid of you." Arwen floated just a little higher, hoping Harrison hadn't noticed the slip up. 

Apparently, he hadn't, but the comment definitely struck some kind of nerve.

"Nerris? She hates me! She's always had it out for me, ever since I got to camp…"

"She just doesn't like your definition of magic." Arwen laughed, turning herself just enough to float upside down. She smiled down at Harrison, though he didn't smile back.

Instead, the boy now looked serious, eyebrows knitting together and mouth setting in a straight line, "...Can I tell you something? Like, a secret?"

"What kind of secret?" Arwen straightened herself up, raising an eyebrow in interest. 

Harrison turned away, though it was too late to hide the blush growing across his face, "About Nerris…"

"I'm listening." Arwen lowered herself to be level with Harrison. 

"I, uh...I like her...and I want to be friends with her. She's not scared of my powers and-" Harrison buried his face in his hands, blush spreading out of control now. 

Arwen definitely cursed her mother as she found herself trying not to giggle at the boy's expense, "She accepts you...she might not seem like it, but she likes you too…"

"How do you know?" Harrison slowly looked up from his hands. 

Arwen's eyes widened at the realization of what she had said, "I, uh...Do you know anything about paradoxes?"

"You keep talking about those...No, I don't." Harrison sighed, letting his feet touch the ground. 

Arwen joined him on the ground, though she cast her eyes to the sky, "Well, I don't either, but I have a secret too."

"Now, I'm listening." Harrison crossed his arms, turning his full attention to the girl. 

"I didn't teleport...I mean, I did, but not from a location...it was from a time…" Arwen took a step away from the boy, eyes still trained at the sky. 

"I don't understand…" 

"I'm from the future...I was trying to jump back twenty minutes and instead I ended up twenty years in the past! I know it sounds crazy, but-" Arwen finally looked at Harrison, wringing her hands the way he had earlier.

"We can time travel!?" Harrison's eyes were blown wide. Arwen moved even further away from him.

"Look, I don't even know how I did this!" 

"You can reverse every one of your spells, why not this one? It can't be that hard to figure out, can it?" Harrison stepped confidently toward the girl, definitely mirroring his future self now. 

"I don't know…" Arwen admitted, sitting on a nearby tree stump to think. He was right after all...why couldn't she just reverse this?

"Have you tried yet?" Harrison took a seat beside her. Arwen put her head in her hands.

"No…"

A silence fell between the two again, but it didn't last long. Arwen felt an arm wrap around her shoulder, one that, even though it was twenty years too early, brought her the same comfort it did in her own time.

"...I have another question...about your dad…" Harrison's voice sounded small, despite him sitting right beside Arwen. 

The girl didn't bother to look up, but mumbled back, "I might have an answer…"

"He's, uh...It's me...isn't it?"

A pause. Then, an answer. 

"If this creates a paradox, it's on you...Dad."


	3. Chapter 3

"So, I am your dad...in the future…" Harrison mumbled, the revelation slowly dawning on him. 

Arwen nodded, finally lifting her head from her hands. She immediately wished she hadn't, tears falling before she could stop them, "I-I hurt you…"

"H-hey, it's alright." Harrison replied, taking off his top hat to grab a handkerchief. For once, he was able to find what he wanted on the first try, immediately moving to dry his daughter's tears. 

The action only made Arwen cry harder. Harrison had always been such a caring person and the universe just kept giving him shit for it. 

"It's not fair, dad! We're freaks! I'm the one who is too dangerous to be around people, yet everyone is scared of you! Why!?" The girl rubbed angrily at her eyes. 

Harrison took a breath, willing away his own tears and hoping his voice would stay steady, "Arwen, it's okay…"

"No, it's-"

"Listen to me," Harrison moved to put both arms around the girl, unsure which one of them needed the hug more, "I'm proud of you...you coming back here just shows you were using your powers to make things right and that's a good thing…"

"W-what?" Arwen sniffed, letting her head rest on Harrison's shoulder. Time changes a lot of things, but Harrison definitely gave the best hugs regardless of the year.

"Look, we all...hurt people, sometimes...But it's what we do after that makes a difference."

"What are you talking about?" Arwen straightened herself up, confusion taking over her sadness. 

Harrison offered her a smile, "You hurt me, sure, but you also taught me today how to use my powers. Doesn't that count for anything?"

"I guess it does…"

"Are you ever...scared of me? In the future?" Harrison asked, his smile fading into a stoic expression. 

"What!? No way! The only people scared of you in the future are the guys who cause trouble at the bar!" Arwen lightly smacked Harrison's shoulder, as if the suggestion of him being was absurd, "Why would you even think that?"

"Well, you did run away…" Harrison pointed out. 

"What? Oh, no...No, no, no; I didn't run away, I just-" 

"You wanted to...I bet you were trying to find somewhere to hide before this happened." Harrison stood up, brushing some dirt off of his clothes before turning to face Arwen.

"How'd ya know…?" Arwen rubbed nervously at her arm. 

Harrison gave a sad, almost pained, smile,"Did the same thing when I made my brother disappear...But there are somethings you have to face eventually...I'm sure my older self is looking for you."

"Oh, I know he is...I bet mom is worried sick, too…" Arwen stood up to pace. 

"Well, I can't speak for your mom, but I promise I won't be mad at you when you get home," Harrison smiled confidently, "Speaking of...What can you tell me about your mother-"

As if on some hilariously placed cue, Nerris emerged from a section of trees, "There you two are! Arwen, your dad is here."

Arwen looked around frantically, "What? How?"

"Well, a magician never reveals his secrets...Unless you come to practice." Adult Harrison appeared behind Nerris, a soft smirk on his face. 

Relief had Arwen running for her dad, wrapping him in the tightest hug she could manage as soon as he was within reach. Harrison knelt to be level with his daughter, hugging her back just as tight.

"You know how to-" Arwen asked, lifting her head to look at her dad.

"I know a lot more than you think I do, which reminds me..." Harrison stood then made his way over to his younger self. 

"Wait! You'll tell him how to time travel, but you won't tell me!?" Arwen pouted, crossing her arms over her chest. 

"Hey, if I don't tell him now, you're never going to learn." Adult Harrison tried to reason, though he knew it was a moot point. Turning back to himself, he dropped his voice to a whisper. Young Harrison's expression went from awe to total confusion the longer his adult self spoke.

"But wait! How will I know whe-?" Young Harrison ran his fingers through his hair, trying to process the new knowledge.

Adult Harrison only laughed at his younger self, "Trust me, you'll know."

Nerris stared between the two. She knew something was off about Arwen's dad, but she couldn't place what, "Did I miss something?"

Arwen and both Harrisons shared a look, the oldest of the group shaking his head. If his memory of the day's events served, Nerris was never to know about this. Taking the hint, Young Harrison stepped forward, putting a hand on Nerris' shoulder to lead her away.

"Come on, Nerris...let's go finish that quest…"

"Really? Alright! Let's go!" Nerris, having completely forgotten about the strange pair in her excitement, raced off ahead of her friend. 

Before disappearing beyond the trees, Young Harrison turned, now with a liveliness in his eyes that wasn't there earlier, "Bye, Arwen...thanks for your help today!"

The boy turned to join his friend, who commented softly, "You know, I always liked the name Arwen."

Adult Harrison watched the pair, a soft smile at the knowledge of what was to come. Once they were out of sight, Harrison looked back at Arwen, "Alright, kiddo, we should get back to our own ti-"

"Wait! Why can't we stay!? You can teach me AND Harrison and-" Arwen grabbed her dad's arm, as if to root him in place, but, by then, it was too late.

"What, and create a paradox?" With that, Arwen shut her eyes and held on to her father's arm tightly, the fear she had felt while falling from the sky returning full force. 

While she could hear wind whipping past her, Arwen didn't feel like she was falling. By the time she actually felt confident to open her eyes, the girl realized she was already in her own backyard. 

"Did you have fun in the past?" Harrison asked casually, unbothered by his daughter's death grip on his arm.

"You're not mad?" The girl refused to look up at him. 

"Why would I be mad? You used your powers AND you helped someone. That's a win in my book; Besides, I did promise I wouldn't be mad." Harrison ruffled his daughter's hair with his free hand. 

Arwen finally let go of his arm, taking a few paces backward, "Is that why you nag me so much? Because-?"

"I'm not going to lie to you, Dove, that was probably the loneliest time of my life you saw...And I don't want you to think too much into it." The older illusionist inspected his gloves before heading toward the patio and taking a seat. 

At his age, time travel longer than ten years was extremely tiring.

"B-but dad…" Arwen followed, sinking into a chair beside him. 

"Look, all I ever wanted was for you to know you weren't an- I don't like this word, but I'm gonna use it anyway, an outcast." Harrison rubbed at his eyes, trying to get some of his energy back. He knew his daughter had questions and concerns and it wouldn't be fair to her not to address them.

Arwen picked at her arm rest, her voice quiet now, "I never felt like an outcast, dad...I hope you know that…"

"Thanks to your little time traveling stunt, I always knew that." Harrison sat up, reaching for his daughter's hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze.

Arwen returned it, then sighed, "You did?"

"Hey, once I knew I had to grow up and teach you these things, I started practicing everything you taught me that afternoon, including time manipulation!" The older of the two smiled proudly.

"You learned that because of me!?" Arwen's eyes grew wide, her father nodding in return.

"If you could imagine the look on your mom's face when I took her back the first time-" 

"Wait, wait! You AND mom time travel!?" Arwen stood up from her chair so fast that it tipped over behind her. 

Harrison laughed, picking the chair up with a snap of his fingers, "How else do you think we kept our jobs with a magic baby? Those first few years were rough."

A silence settled between the two, Arwen setting back in her chair to think. There had been something else bothering her all day...Didn't hurt to ask, right?

"You didn't block my shot earlier...why?" She stared straight across the yard, almost hoping her father hadn't been paying attention to the question.

As always, he had been.

"I knew what needed to happen...If I never learned from you that afternoon, I probably would have never been able to teach you." Harrison replied, staring into the same nothingness as Arwen.

"Is that what...past you was asking about? How he'd know when-"

"What? Oh, God, no. I told him he'd need to learn how to defend himself with a hockey stick and he'd know when the time came." The older illusionist turned his full attention back to the child, knowing full well a question would follow.

"What!? Why would he need to know that!?" Arwen asked, a sort of awe taking over.

"Oh, come on. I told you about that time I had to duel your grandfather." Harrison stared at her in disbelief.

Arwen shook her head, "No! You haven't!"

"I haven't...huh? Well, maybe after your lesson, I'll tell you." Her father stood, energy almost completely restored. 

"You're gonna teach me how to time travel!?" Arwen jumped up from her chair again,careful not to tip it this time. A smirk returned to Harrison's face as he briefly considered switching lessons.

Nah, maybe some other day. 

"Nope. First things first; You're gonna learn how to neutralize a spell."


End file.
